The stakes are higher, but for the most part, Shakespeare's Prince Hal, the focal character in "Henry IV, Part I," is going through something almost everyone can relate to.

Coming of age.

At 21, Prince Hal has already spent plenty of time hanging around thieves and drunks and not enough time thinking about a job  such as succeeding his father to become King Henry V of England. When the country erupts in civil war, the prince duels the formidable Hotspur, who has raised arms against the king.

Often regarded as one of Shakespeare's historical plays, director R. Kevin Doyle says, "Henry IV" is more than it appears on the surface.

"I think of it as an adventure," Doyle said. "You've got a kid who everybody thinks is going to fail, who has to fight against the greatest soldier of his time to become king."

"Henry IV, Part I" opens at Windward Community' College's Paliku Theatre today as part of the 2003 Hawai'i Shakespeare Festival. "Henry IV" hasn't been performed on O'ahu for at least 30 years, if ever, according to Doyle, who teaches theater at the Mid-Pacific Institute.

For Jeremy Pippin, who plays Prince Hal, it has been challenging to bring his character from a drunken louse in the first scene to a mature, noble soldier near the end of the play.

In "Henry IV," actors emulate a fighting style seen in Chinese opera, in choreography by Nicholas Logue. "Not the kind of stuff you would expect to find in England and Wales," said Pippin. Another highlight is the chemistry between Prince Hal and his hedonistic friend, Falstaff, played by Aitofele Steele.

"I think theater is having a difficult time competing with film, which can offer the big explosions and special effects," said Pippin. "What people forget is that in the theater, there is a human connection that you cannot make with a screen. When it's done right, there's a tension in the air. I don't know what it is, but you can feel it."